Spread The Light

Before Opening Day, before Spring Training, before Pitchers & Catchers, there has been revealed the first physical evidence that we will indeed be granted another baseball season.

There is light in the late afternoon.

It's a surprise every winter. Light takes an extended holiday in December and half of January, long enough so that you think it will be in short supply forever. But maybe a week ago, the darkness began to noticeably yield. Come 4 o'clock every day, the sky suddenly showed signs of generosity. Come 4:30 there was still something to see. Come five, streetlights and headlights were cooling their heels until we absolutely needed them. Keep an eye out the window: it's going to stay a little lighter a littler longer every day for a while now. And where there is light, surely there will be our game.

Light is the gift we receive from above. It is our signal that everything will eventually turn out fine. If you could do anything to spread the light, I'm guessing you would.

A loyal Faith and Fear reader has alerted us to a fundraising drive going on for the Starlight Starbright Children's Foundation, an organization devoted to improving the lives of seriously ill children and their parents as they persevere together through unimaginably tough times. The impetus for this particular initiative was the devastating loss suffered by a Mets fan family of good standing in the online community. Their daughter Miranda was born fighting. She gave it her all for 36 hours. The fight ended far too quickly.

Our loyal reader and other terrific Mets fans in the acquaintance of this family are determined there be light spread in the wake of this terrible darkness. They have established the Baby Miranda Memorial with the Starlight Starbright Children's Foundation. It's a way of remembering one child while trying to make things better for another.

You can read more about Starlight Starbright here. You can find out about the Mets' involvement with the foundation here. And if you choose to, you are invited to join in the tribute to Baby Miranda here. Your contribution, however slight, will do one of the best things possible. Where there would otherwise be darkness, you will help spread the light.

I'm moved by the generosity in response to this campaign, allowing us to eclipse our goal in such rapid fashion over the weekend. Anybody subsequently moved to add to the tribute, please don't let the fact that we've passed that goal stop you. It was a pretty arbitrary number to begin with.
And please allow me to add a note to Greg's gorgeous essay. He describes our online friends as “a Mets fan family of good standing in the online community.” That doesn't fully describe it. Our brother has been voice of passion, reason, and humor, but also advocacy. When the impasse between Time-Warner Cable and Cablevision kept the Mets off of New York TV screens in 2005, he was a leader, by helping to set up a protest website, starting an onliine petition, and especially by testifying before the City Council as to how the arrogance and entitlement of the cable compaines, fueled by anti-competitive behavior and exclusive contracts, had robbed New Yorkers in five boroughs of access to a product they were desperately willing to pay for.
He took a bit of his allotted time to turn to the reps for Time-Warner and Cablevision to upbraid them for drowning the customers in propoganda blaming the other side for the impasse, instead of putting their energy into negotiating an agreement. Within weeks, the Mets were back on televisions across New York.
I self-plagiarized a bit there, as this isn't the first time i've praised the guy, but “good standing” doesn't cut it. If fans were decorated for their service to the cause, he'd have a chest full of fruit salad.

I first heard about the Starlight, Starbright foundation through Hollywood video, and although I had no idea that the Mets were involved with the foundation. I think that it is a wonderful thing that the baseball organization has decided to give something back to the community in the form of this outreach program to try and help those families who have been so stricken with something as devastating as having to deal with a seriously, or even terminally ill child. It is a difficult thing to become a parent, and even more so when you find that the one person you promised to protect in this world has something wrong with them and you can do nothing to help it. Bravo to the Mets for supporting these families! I hope that everyone learns from this example and understands how important it is sometimes to just bring a little light into someone’s life.

I’m a supporter of the Starlight, Starbright Foundation, and I’ve very glad to hear the Mets are, too. So many sports figures and movie stars seem to simply amass wealth and never use it for a good cause. The fact that the Mets are involved in something like the foundation is a great thing. The Baby Miranda Memorial is a great idea, and I can only imagine how touched the family is. I’m also glad to see that the memorial has raised far beyond the $500 that the website lists as its goal. That makes me feel even better about the state of the world. Many people would have seen that the goal was reached and not donate, but the Mets and their fans kept giving, and it looks like the amount raised is now about five times what they were aiming for. That’s excellent! May many other sports teams and their fans follow the Mets’ example!

THE NUMBERS SHIRT IS BACK!

It’s back! The famous Faith and Fear in Flushing Mets retired-numbers shirt, worn proudly from the Verrazano to Venice, has been updated to include Mike Piazza’s No. 31, the revised order atop Citi Field, and a more accurate font!